


7 Days a Week  ( I Think We Match Quite Well)

by ncxbaby



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: M/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-02
Updated: 2020-08-11
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:41:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 14,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25036411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ncxbaby/pseuds/ncxbaby
Summary: It’s come to the point where even Doyoung, an optimist for potential blossoming relationships, thinks the situation has become quite pathetic. Mark can barely go a minute without sneaking a glance at Donghyuck, and Donghyuck can barely go a minute without staring back, unabashed.or: 12 times each of the NCT members are forced to watch Mark and Donghyuck flounder helplessly around eachother, and the 1 time they decide to take matters into their own hands.
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun/Lee Jeno/Na Jaemin, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee, Moon Taeil/Suh Youngho | Johnny, Park Jisung/Zhong Chen Le
Comments: 65
Kudos: 336





	1. Johnny

**Author's Note:**

> :'/ this is quite long but enjoy plaze

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it begins w johnny sUH

Mark stumbles into Johnny’s room one night after a long day of promotions, and Johnny makes the mistake of not expecting anything out of the ordinary. 

You can’t blame him, really. It’s become a regular routine for Johnny to offer his words of advice and comfort to Mark when he’s feeling particularly stressed out and overworked, and Mark looks like he needs it now more than ever, hair disheveled and face panicked. His eyes flick around the room before locking onto Johnny’s. 

“Donghyuck isn’t here, right?” The younger asks as a greeting, voice frantic. 

“No, he’s at Dream’s,” Johnny affirms hesitantly, a little confused. Almost instantly, Mark releases an exhale of relief, sinking down into Donghyuck’s empty bed. “Dude?”

“Hyung,” Mark whispers quietly after a few long moments of silence. He’s staring blankly up at the ceiling. “I’ve been having  _ really _ weird dreams about Donghyuck.”

_“_ Oh,” Johnny tries to appear not as shocked as he’s feeling, a number of thoughts racing through his head. Most of them are inapropriate. _Come_ _on_ , he scolds himself. _Be mature. This is probably a monumental moment for Mark. Maybe._

“Seriously?  _ Donghyuck _ ?” Is what his mouth chokes out instead. He tries again. “I mean, how long have have you been having these dreams?” 

“Like a couple months now?” Mark sighs, clearly frustrated with himself. “They’re just mad confusing _.  _ At first they were fine, but now I can’t even look at Hyuck without thinking about my stupid dreams. It’s ruining  _ everything _ . _ ”  _

“Well, alright,” Johnny turns to face Mark then after gathering his thoughts and his maturity. “Do you want to tell me what happens in these dreams?” 

“I dunno, dude, just-” Mark sits up then, running his hand furiously through his brown locks. His eyes bore into Donghyuck’s purple hoodie that’s strewn carelessly across their carpet. “They’re just super confusing, I’m going to sound really weird.” 

_ A sex dream _ ! Johnny’s brain is wailing while he stares patiently at Mark, plastering on his most kind expression.  _ My son has been having continuous sex dreams about Donghyuck. Dongyhuck, of all people. My other son.  _

Johnny’s heart sinks at the realization.  _ Oh my god,  _ he thinks.  _ My son is having a sex dream about my other son.  _

“But listen, you gotta  _ swear _ not to tell him about this, alright?” 

“I promise,” Johnny swears earnestly, bracing himself for the worst as Mark smiles at him gratefully. 

“Okay, well,” Mark starts, but Johnny’s thoughts are already on a track of their own.  _ A fucking sex dream. A SEX DREAM. I gotta listen to my dongsaeng talk to me about his sex dreams. With Donghyuck. MY SON. DONGHYUCK. Are you kidding me right now-  _

“- And we’re always like, holding  _ hands _ , man.” Mark’s voice cuts into Johnny’s inner cries. “And all I remember the morning I wake up is like, his  _ face _ . He’s always weirdly glowy. There’s no other way to  _ say _ it, hyung, seriously. Like there’s flowers everywhere and everything, and I can always hear Taeil hyung singing in the back. And Donghyuck looks really pretty, I guess. I wake up feeling weird, every single time.” 

After Johnny gets over his initial extreme relief, he quickly realizes what Mark’s implying, and he can’t even say that he’s surprised.

He’d always assumed that Donghyuck had a thing for Mark, and wasn’t all that shocked to hear that Mark presumably felt the same way. The two of them had always been two peas in a pod, arguing one moment but making up in the next millisecond. 

Come to think of it, numerous occasions had Johnny feeling a third-wheel when he was out with the two of them, having to sit through their intricate (and just plain weird sounding) inside jokes and Donghyuck’s blatant displays of affection and Mark’s naturally flustered state around him. 

He had always felt guilty for feeling annoyed previously, but now  _ well, at least it’ll be justified when they get together? _ He shrugged internally. Third wheeling would still suck, but hey, at least they were cute. 

“I think that’s pretty cute, man, nothing to worry too much about.” Johnny leans forward to pinch Mark’s cheek and smiles at him encouragingly. “Do you know if he likes you back?” 

“ _ What? _ ” Mark gasps loudly, looking scandalized. “What? Hyung _! What? _ ” 

“I’m lost,” Johnny squints at the younger suspiciously. “Why are you so confused? Don’t you like him?” 

“I never  _ said  _ that,” Mark huffs defensively, face positively red as he stares stubbornly into his socks. “He probably doesn’t even think of me that way anyway.” 

Johnny opens his mouth to refute the statement, but Mark barrels on. 

“All I said was I have weird dreams about Hyuck where we hold hands and he looks nice and Taeil hyung’s singing in the back. I never even  _ thought _ about asking him  _ out,  _ are you crazy? You are! Haha, oh Johnny, you silly guy, you. Ha!”

Johnny suppresses the urge to roll his eyes as Mark awkwardly chokes out a few more laughs. Seriously, who did he think he was fooling? 

“Think about it, Mark. You have dreams about  _ holding _ hands with Donghyuck, where he looks really  _ pretty _ , Taeil’s voice probably singing a love song in the back, flowers  _ everywhere- _ I think  _ I _ may know what this may mean, but you need to figure it out for yourself.”

Mark crosses his arms and ponders for a second, looking stumped. When Johnny turns to look at the boy after a few minutes of silence, he finds him nodding off against one of Donghyuck’s plushies. 

Johnny finally allows himself to roll his eyes. 

After Johnny shakes a disgruntled Mark awake and gently pushes him out the door, Mark suddenly stops in his tracks, turning to face Johnny with a solemn expression. “Hyung, I think I figured it out.” 

“Huh?”  _ Oh, the crush!  _ “Oh! Listen, we can talk more about it tommorow, okay? You really need to get to bed, we have to get up early tommorow.” 

Mark looks weirdly sad when he trudges off to his bedroom door, and Johnny can’t fathom the reason why.

\--

The next morning, Johnny opens his eyes to Mark’s resigned facial expression looming over him. 

It’s  _ definitely  _ not the first thing Johnny’s expecting to wake up to, and he doesn’t even get a chance to scream in the midst of his shock before Mark’s speaking, voice gloomy. 

“You were right, dude. I think I figured it out.” 

“Jesus, Mark, what  _ the fuck? _ ” Johnny groans, trying to calm down his speeding heartbeat.

After Mark seems to realize why Johnny’s so shaken, he profusely apologizes and sounds genuine enough, so Johnny waves it off quickly. He knows Mark’s not mean  _ or _ weird enough to intentionally be a creep who stares at people until they wake up to notify them of a personal revelation. 

After apologizing one final time, Mark finally explains that last night, he mulled over all the possibilities, and he thinks that he’s figured out what the dreams about Donghyuck mean, and how they connect to reality.

He looks quite crestfallen as he’s finished, much to Johnny’s bewilderment. “So you figured it out, that’s good, right? Then why do you look so sad?”

“No, yeah hyung, yeah, it’s good,” Mark’s sighs, frown deepening.  _ “ _ For Taeil hyung, maybe.” He adds under his breath. 

“Taeil?” Somehow, Johnny knows that this isn’t going to end well. “What does he have to do this?” 

“Well, obviously because Donghyuck’s in love with Taeil hyung. _ ”  _

_ Ah, there it is. _

“ _ No,  _ are you an idiot? Where the fu- where did that even  _ come  _ from?” But Mark’s already out the room. 

“Fucking hopeless,” Johnny laments, squeezing his eyes shut and rubbing his temples with his fingers. “That kid is fucking hopeless.” 


	2. Renjun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> renjun is not having it

Renjun doesn’t consider himself an expert on romance. 

On the contrary, considering that he _is_ the same person who got his girlfriend in middle school a cheap plastic water-bottle for her birthday, and after realizing he was gay a few years later, got the same gift for his boyfriend. He honestly doesn’t feel like he’s really advanced much since then. 

However _,_ he was smart enough to figure out that both Jeno and Jaemin were harboring crushes on each-other _and_ him, and that had landed him with two beautiful boyfriends. So, at the very least, Renjun believes he’s qualified enough to know infatuation when he sees it. 

That being said, Renjun believes he’s right on the money with his speculation that Lee Donghyuck is clearly crushing on someone. 

He glares suspiciously at Donghyuck’s giggling figure in the corner of the practice room whose hunched over his phone. Said figure blushes furiously at the most recent message he’s received, scrambling to text back, his fingers moving quicker than the speed of light.

It’s cute. It’s also disgusting. Renjun needs to know who it is. 

He considers the options. He doesn’t consider for that long, being that there aren’t many options to begin with. The main people that are coming to Renjun’s head now are Taeil and Jeno, being that Donghyuck loves to smother both of them with kisses and hugs, regardless of their displeasure or not. 

But it’s a known fact that Taeil is an unintentionally dry texter- plus him and Johnny are an item. And Jeno’s currently sitting the chair behind Renjun, threading his fingers through Renjun’s hair while talking to Jaemin animatedly. His phone is probably tucked in his bag somewhere near the water fountain, where Chenle’s discretely trying to tie a distracted Jisung’s shoelaces together. 

_So who could be texting him?_ Renjun thinks, racking his brain. Jaemin’s eyes are pretty distracting from down on his lap, so he looks up from them and concentrates instead on Donghyuck’s rapid texting. _If not Jeno, if not Taeil, who else?_

Suddenly, Donghyuck lets out a small squeak. He throws his phone across the room before curling his knees in to his body, shoving his face into his hands. His ears are tomato red. 

And that’s easily the most revolting thing Renjun’s ever seen, so Renjun disposes all plans of playing rational detective and intercepts the phone instead, sprinting to the door in record time. He sees the member’s heads pop up at the commotion and then a delayed _“Ow, FUCK- I’LL KILL YOU ZHONG CHENLE-”_ as he zips out the door. 

“Now lets see whose got you all shy over, shall we?” Renjun whispers to himself, feeling a bit evil as he sprints to the end of the hallway and hides behind the nearest vending machine. Leaning against it, he catches his breath and for a moment, feels a little bad for what he’s about to do. 

Almost immediately, his brain conjures up multiple instances of Donghyuck exposing Renjun to both Jeno and Jaemin, and he throws away any feelings of guilt. _It’s high time I’ve got my revenge anyway_ , he shrugs, and peers down at the phone. 

All Renjun’s able to see is “Markie” listed as the contact, a contact photo of a horribly cute selfie of Donghyuck and Mark in matching red scarves, and a blue text bubble that reads “ _no u hyung_ ” before Donghyuck’s behind him, snatching his phone out of Renjun’s hands with a nasty snarl. 

While Donghyuck begins chewing out Renjun about the lack of privacy in their friendship, Renjun mentally smacks himself for not considering Mark hyung sooner. _Obviously_ , he chides himself. _The two have been hanging off eachother for years now, I’m surprised that they themselves aren’t fucking tired of their ‘will they or won’t they’ bulllshit._

“-Uh, hello, are you even _listening_?” Donghyuck snaps his fingers in front of Renjun’s face. 

“I can’t believe this,” Renjun chooses to ignore Donghyuck’s question, and makes a face. “ _Mark’s_ been making you act like an anime schoolgirl?” 

Renjun tries to imagine Mark flirting and instantly shakes the thought out of his head. Donghyuck flushes, shoving his phone into his pocket. “It’s none of your _business,_ ” He grumbles. Renjun takes it as a confirmation. 

Renjun doesn’t let up, trailing after Donghyuck back down the hallway. “I can’t believe Mark hyung’s game is good enough to charm someone as picky as you,” He crows. “I can’t believe Mark hyung’s-”

“Shut _up,_ Renjun,” Donghyuck steams, cheeks pink.

They stop in front of the door to the practice room, but before pushing the door open, Donghyuck spins around, looking anywhere but Renjun. 

“Well?” Renjun stares pointedly at him, and the door. “Are you going to let us practice, loverboy?”

“Fuck off.” Donghyuck flushes, before sighing and finally looking at Renjun. “I just thought I’d let you know that no, we aren’t dating, so,” He flounders a little, looking slightly miserable. “Don’t go telling the members, I guess. It’s honestly nothing.”

“You guys aren’t dating?” Renjun balks. “Good lord, Donghyuck!”

“Dating? I don't want to-” Donghyuck stops mid-protest, deflating under Renjun’s sharp glare. “Don’t think he really likes me like that, anyway. It’s really whatever.”

Donghyuck could almost be convincing, Renjun thinks to himself wryly, if Mark hyung wasn’t also clearly infatuated with him. He thinks of the countless incidents where Mark has made a fool of himself just to do something for Donghyuck, or to be near him, or to compliment him- and cringes at the memories. If anyone was more obvious than Donghyuck, it would probably be Mark. 

Still, the dejected tone Donghyuck’s suddenly taken up makes Renjun feel properly guilty, so he drags the other into a one armed hug. 

“Donghyuck,” Renjun says then, pulling away to stare straight into the boy’s eyes with concern. “Holy fucking shit. You’re an idiot.” 


	3. Taeil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> poor taeil

“- Anyway yeah, hyung, that should be all. Donghyuck is a pretty meticulous person, though, so actually, you need to-”

Taeil tries to look as interested as possible as Mark rambles on about Donghyuck’s habits and other strange facts about the younger. 

Mark had pulled him aside after a performance, dragging him into an empty room without explanation before bursting into a flurry of facts and tips when dealing with all things Donghyuck. Taeil supposes they would be useful if he was in a relationship with said boy, but he isn’t, and now he wants to slam his head into a wall at the thought.

His mind suddenly wanders to something Johnny had done a couple days ago. 

Johnny had stormed into Taeil’s room looking like he had drank a large carton of week old milk. After declaring a cryptic, “ _You better not have some crush on Donghyuck that I don’t know about, hyung, because that’s going to be an issue._ ” Johnny had stared Taeil down with bloodshot eyes. He looked like he had lost years of sleep. 

When Taeil quickly assured him that he didn’t, Johnny let out a string of creative expletives that were mainly directed towards Mark- and, oh, okay. Taeil is now remembering that Mark is currently under the nauseating impression that Donghyuck and Taeil are in love with one another. 

“Mark,” Taeil says delicately after Mark pauses momentarily to wipe sweat from his brow.“You know I’m not in love with Donghyuck, right?” 

Mark looks taken aback. “Oh.” Then he looks mildly offended on Donghyuck’s behalf, mouth twisting into a bristled frown. “Well, why not? He’s great, he’s funny, and he’s-”

Taeil stares at him. “ _Hopeless,”_ Johnny had moaned in agony. Taeil hadn’t believed it at first. Mark? Hopeless?

“ _This is SM’s golden boy we’re talking about,_ ” Taeil had assured Johnny. “ _He has to be smart enough to at least think that Donghyuck feels the same way about him.”_

Turns out Mark was having trouble even fathoming the thought. Johnny’s agony is warranted, completely warranted. 

Taeil explains slowly to a raving Mark, interrupting his speech about Taeil being blind. “It’s not that I don’t think Donghyuck’s great, Mark- he is. It’s just, I don’t feel an attraction to him the way I would to, you know,” Taeil sighs. “My actual boyfriend, Johnny?” 

When Mark is finished prancing around in embarrassment, Taeil pats his head. “That’s not the point though, Mark. The point is that Donghyuck is technically all yours to court.”

“Oh, psh- No way!” Mark has the audacity to start feigning demurral at the mere thought. “I couldn’t possibly- what? Hyung, you’re crazy!”

Taeil and Johnny spend that night mourning the loss of Mark’s intelligence. 


	4. Doyoung

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> doyoungs take

It’s come to the point where even  _ Doyoung _ , who would typically consider himself somewhat of an optimist for potential blossoming relationships, thinks the situation has just become quite pathetic.

Doyoung sees all the signs after halfheartedly observing the two of them for only a day, and already feels quite exhausted with how oblivious the two of them are to eachother’s emotions. 

Here are a few things that Doyoung has noticed: 

  * Mark can barely go a minute without sneaking a glance at Donghyuck. 



  * Donghyuck can barely go a minute without staring right back. 



  * Donghyuck knows Mark’s favorite songs and and uses this knowledge to sing them softly under his breath whenever he’s around the other, just so Mark can stare at him afterward with stars in his eyes. 



  * Mark smiles at Donghyuck like he would give up everything in the world for him, and Doyoung is firm in the belief that he probably would if he could. 



  
  


All of it would be well and fine and sweet if they would just fucking  _ do  _ something. Doyoung glares at the two of them sharing airpods on the couch across across from him, shoulders pressed together as Donghyuck shows something on his phone to Mark. 

Doyoung is a man of patience, and sure, he knows how “love makes people do stupid things”, but come on, this is truly a new level of the term! The two of them act like the sky’s fallen the second anyone mentions them dating, and then go right ahead and do something to dispute the fact. 

_ They’re hardly children anymore,  _ Doyoung gripes inwardly.  _ There’s no reason they should be acting this silly.  _

Donghyuck eyes flutter shut from his position on Mark’s shoulder, and Mark looks like he’s about to combust, body stiff as a board but his blush giving away that obvious fact that he’s pleased.

_ Never mind,  _ Doyoung corrects himself.  _ Still children _ . 

Still, it’s pretty adorable. Doyoung softens immediately as he watches Mark’s gaze flicker down to a now fast asleep Donghyuck. 

Even if the two of them move like sloths in the progress department, the little things are sweet, and as Mark sneaks an adoring look at the sleeping boy in his lap, Dooyoung thinks that in the end, those are probably what matter the most. 

So when Mark carefully lowers Donghyuck’s head to his lap, eyebrows scrunched together as he tries to be as gentle as he possibly can so as to not wake him, Doyoung thinks that though love makes people do stupid things, it also can bring out the best in a person.

Doyoung adds another fact to his mental list:

  * Donghyuck and Mark are frustrating, but they also bring out eachother’s unique and hidden qualities, intentional or not.



Still, this fact won’t stop Doyoung from teasing them. As he strides past Mark to get to the drinks, he whispers, in mock offense- “Why didn’t anyone notify me of the wedding?” and adds in a few eyebrow waggles for good measure. 

Mark’s sputtering is so loud that he wakes up Donghyuck.

“Thanks a lot, hyung,” He glares at Mark but it lacks menace. “For someone whose always telling me to rest more, you’re sure contradicting yourself here.” 

“ _ What? _ This isn’t even my fault-! And anyway, you should be lucky that I’m letting your heavy ass sleep on me! _ ” _ Mark squawks, and the second Donghyuck opens his mouth to retort, Doyoung knows he’s been forgotten. 

He skips back to his spot on the couch.  _ Definitely _ stupid.


	5. Jisung

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this ones literally a chensung mf oneshot, with a markhyuck cameo. HEAR ME OUT THOUGH! IM SORRY BUT can u fuckiNg BLAME me they’re too fucking CUTE I DIDNT EVEN REALIZE I WAS maKing it CHENSUNG CENTRIC UNTIL IT WAS TOO LATE. :’’/ PLZ ENJOY REGARDLESS!

The moment his evening individual dance lesson is finished, the first thing Jisung does is immediately seek out Chenle. He doesn’t have to look very hard, because just as he’s about to make a phone call to the other, he sees the boy sitting alone at a table through the glass of the company cafe. 

Jisung pushes in through the doors hurriedly, making a beeline towards the boy. Chenle smiles and opens his mouth to greet him, but before he can, Jisung rushes out his words. 

“Chenleweneedtoleavenowi’veorderedanUberit’sasurprise.”

_ “What?” _

“Just come with me, we don’t have any time,” Jisung pleads, grabbing Chenle’s hand and trying to pull him out of his seat.

“Can you at least  _ tell _ me what we’re doing before you kidnap me?” Chenle gripes as Jisung tries to drag him out of his spot. He’s not succeeding. For someone who looks so goddamn light, Chenle’s surprisingly strong as he resists. 

“It’s a  _ surprise _ ,” Jisung insists again, ducking his head down to hiss in case there are any perked ears around them. There’s hardly anybody in the cafe, but still, it doesn’t hurt to be careful. “But we’re going to sneak out, so I’m begging you to  _ please _ get  _ up  _ and get changed before we miss our ride.” 

“Oh!” Chenle beams, excited, before his expression quickly changes into a pout. “But my danishes,” He pouts, and Jisung turns to look at the two pastries that are in front of the smaller. 

“Two danishes?” Jisung tilts his head before smirking down at him. “You can barely even finish one, dude, you trying to bulk up or something?” 

Chenle shrugs. “I was going to text you to come and eat with me after your lesson,” He mumbles, avoiding Jisung’s eyes. “But looks like you got here before I could.” 

“Oh.” Jisung feels like he’s having trouble breathing, so he stammers awkwardly, “Ah, uh, thanks, Lele.” He feels his brain start to sabotage his mouth, so he shuts himself up by shoving the nearest danish into his face. He swallows the food and then smiles down at the other uncertainly, flashing two thumbs up. 

“That one was  _ mine _ , idiot.” Chenle complains.

Jisung chokes out a weak apology, and Chenle just giggles good naturedly. Jisung tries his best to tear his eyes away from Chenle’s bright smile and focus instead on what he’s here to do. 

_ This is a very important mission,  _ Jisung reminds himself sternly, successfuly looking away from Chenle’s face and shoving his (? Chenle’s, now?) danish into Chenle’s hands. He gently tugs at his hand, and thankfully, this time Chenle allows himself to be pulled up and out the door. 

A little while later, they’re both ready to go, decked out in their “sneak out” gear: black hoodies and black sweatpants, paired with black bucket hats, black shades, and black face masks. They wait silently in the living area of the dorm, careful to not make too much noise. The others are sleeping  _ for now, _ but again, Jisung isn’t taking any risks today, so he forces Chenle to stay quiet as well. It’s proving to be harder than it looks. Chenle’s entire being is 90% noise.

The second he gets a text from the Uber driver that she’s arrived and is waiting outside their dorm, the nerves come flooding in. Jisung tries to calm down his racing heart as Chenle and him both head out the back door, pulling their masks over their faces and their hoods up. 

They successfully open the door without making too much noise, and the two of them bound down the hallway and the stairs, rushing out the back door. Chenle climbs into the taxi first, eyes wide and excited, and Jisung tries not to get too distracted in them.

_ Remember the mission, _ he attempts to tell himself in hopes of easing his heartbeat, but that thought only makes his stomach lurch.  _ Never mind _ , _ bad idea. _

“You okay?” 

“Huh?” Jisung startles from his daze and turns to Chenle, who looks concerned. “Oh, yeah, um, I’m fine. Just a little worried,” He admits. 

“Is it about your mission?” Chenle asks teasingly, wiggling his eyebrows. “This oh-so-important mission that you can’t tell me anything about?”

“Maybe,” Jisung grumbles. 

Chenle taps his chin, looking thoughtful. He then pulls off his mask to lean into Jisung’s space, whispering conspiratorially, “Are we doing something illegal? Drugs, maybe? Murder? Is that why you can’t tell me anything?”

“No!” Jisung shouts, and their driver jolts, startled. Jisung lowers his voice, ignoring Chenle’s shit-eating grin. “Fuck off, Chenle. What we’re doing isn’t  _ illegal _ . It has to do with me giving-” He catches himself quickly. “Come on, dude. Do you even know what a surprise is?” 

Chenle looks unfairly amused. “If you say so,” He shrugs, pulling his mask back on. “Pussy.” He adds. 

“ _ Alright,” _ Jisung chides as he pulls a shrieking Chenle into a headlock. _ “ _ Now _ , really,  _ was that necessary-”

~

By the time they arrive in the bustling city, it’s dusk, and the sky’s a striking shade of navy. Jisung wanders aimlessly through a tiny street that’s somewhat tucked away from the rest, crowded with vendors and little markets, finding himself unable to carry out his original purpose of coming there in the first place.

Chenle’s next to him, and he seems to forget about Jisung’s mission altogether, too distracted fawning over every little thing that catches his eye. He points now and then at the little trinkets that hang from the shop windows. Jisung just finds himself nodding choppily along to anything Chenle says, unable to take his mind off his stupid problem. 

“I’m going to use the restroom,” Jisung excuses himself the second they walk into a bubble tea cafe. He misses Chenle’s look of disappointment as he makes a beeline towards the single-use bathroom in the back. 

Splashing water on his face a couple times, he stares at himself in the mirror, hard.

“Get a grip,” The boy in the mirror sneers at him. “Finish your damn mission.” Jisung retorts back. 

Jisung ends up buying Chenle strawberry bubble tea as an unsaid apology for being so despondent, and Chenle’s delighted smile is motivation enough.

“Chenle,” Jisung chokes out as they’re about to walk out the shop. “I need to take you somewhere.” 

“I  _ knew  _ it was murder,” Chenle responds dreadfully. Jisung glares. “Kidding, kidding. Lead the way, Sung.” 

So he does. Lead them in circles around the store he’s planning on taking Chenle, that is. 

“It should be around here somewhere,” Jisung feigns confusion, scratching his head.  _ Oh come on, _ he mentally curses himself as they pass by the store for the 3rd time.  _ It’s now or never. _

So Jisung sucks it up and on their fourth circle, finally pulls Chenle to the side, fidgeting in front of the shop that he’s been both dreading and anticipating all day. 

_ Chan’s Charms _ . Suddenly, the usually adorable jewlery shop looks a lot more daunting than it should be. 

“Wait here,” Jisung orders Chenle, who obliges, plopping down on the chair in front of the store. Jisung quickly bursts in the shop, and after a few minutes, returns, carrying a miniature blue box. Chenle tries to get a closer look, but Jisung hurriedly shoves it behind his back. 

“What’s that? Something special for someone special?” Chenle leers, and is it just Jisung, or is Chenle looking a little nervous? “A secret girlfriend, perhaps?” 

“ _ No. _ ” Jisung squeezes his eyes shut, before sucking in a deep breath. Chenle looks at him expectantly, eyebrows raised. “It’s for-”

“ _ Mark and Donghyuck hyung-  _ Fuck, hide _!” _

Jisung squawks as he’s suddenly dragged into a vacant alleyway by Chenle, who shushes him immediately. They both peer out of the opening, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible as they scan the street. 

To the rest of the world, it might have been hard to recognize Mark and Donghyuck. They’re wearing sneakout gear similar to Jisung and Chenle, after all. 

But from the way Donghyuck’s got that skip in his step in his walk that’s only apparent whenever he’s around Mark, and from the way they’re both sneaking glances at eachother when they think the other isn’t looking, Jisung can tell it’s unquestionably his hyungs.  _ Gross _ . 

“They’re kind of cute,” Chenle remarks disgustedly. Jisung makes a noise of resigned agreement. Mark’s shoving an ice cream cone into Donghyuck’s hands, who in turn latches onto his arm and bounces on his toes, undoubtedly doing aegyo to show his thanks. Jisung can’t see his face, but he already knows that Mark’s doing that thing where he pays for Donghyuck’s stuff and then acts like it’s doing him a great deal of pain to do so. 

Jisung thinks it’s kind of stupid. It’s pretty obvious at this point that Mark would probably give the world to Donghyuck if he asked cutely enough. 

“So this was the mission, then?” Chenle suddenly asks. 

Jisung turns to face him, and finds himself embarrassingly stunned at Chenle’s appearance. He’s taken his mask off, and the one rickety lightpost that’s implanted at the end of the alley casts a certain glow on his face that makes him look infinitely more delicate than usual. Chenle’s always been pretty, obviously, but this feels different. More real- raw, even. 

Chenle seems to take Jisung’s stupedifed silence for confusion, because he looks pointedly at the box that immediately seems to start burning a hole in Jisung’s hands. “The box, I mean. That was your mission, so whose it for?” 

Jisung snaps out of his daze to glare down at it. He fumbles with it awkwardly. “Um-”

“Is it for a secret lover?” 

“No, it’s-”

“Is it for Jaemin hyung?”

“ _ What _ ? Lele, gross, and  _ no- _ ”

“Is it for-”

_“_ It’s for _you_ , idiot.” Jisung blurts finally, thrusting the box forward. His cheeks blaze and he knocks his head back against the grimy brick wall, feeling weirdly like he’s naked. “This is so goddamn embarassing. _I’m_ so goddamn embarassing.”

Instead of agreeing like he typically would, Chenle just looks downright fond as he reaches forward. His fingers brush over Jisung’s as he grabs the box, and Jisung feels a little like he’s dying. 

He shoves his face into his hands, groaning as Chenle marvels at the necklace inside.

“It’s so pretty,” Chenle coos. He brings the tiny butterfly charm close to his face.  _ So are you _ , Jisung’s mind screams unneccesarily. “Who knew you had such a good eye for stuff like this?” 

“I’m not sure if I should be offended or not,” Jisung says flatly. Chenle just giggles, flashing Jisung a winning smile before turning back to the necklace, transfixed. 

“Will you help me put it on?” He then asks, a bit apprehensively. 

Jisung doesn’t trust his voice to make a coherent sound right now, so he just nods furiously, wiping clammy hands on his pants discretely before coming forward. His fingers shake clumsily as he reaches around Chenle’s neck to clasp the necklace together. 

Chenle turns around, nervous smile on his lips. “How is it looking?” He asks, cheeks flushed. 

Jisung can’t really see the necklace underneath Chenle’s hoodie, but Chenle’s shy smile is more than enough to render Jisung speechless. He swallows, hard. “Really good. You look really good.” 

“You’re sure this is for me?” Chenle asks, voice wistful. 

“Yeah,” Jisung croaks out. He clears his throat, and with an ounce of bravery, comes forward to grasp the silver butterfly that hangs from Chenle’s neck, pointing. Under the dim light, they can make out a tiny ‘Z.C’ engraved into it’s right wing. “See? Even has your initials on it!”

Chenle turns to look at him with an unreadable expression, so Jisung begins to do what he does best: babble. 

“Um, I was here with my cousin last month, and when I saw the butterfly, it, well, it reminded me of you. I know it’s a little lame, and you’ve definitely seen a cooler shit than this, but whatever. I just thought you might like it? So I asked if I could have your initials engraved into it, and yeah.” He gestures wildly. “Turns out you can! Ha! So uh, yeah, I haven’t had time to come back to collect it, and today we finally had a little time, so I thought it’d be nice if you came along, because, well, you know,” Jisung takes a deep breath. “Because I really like you, Chenle-”

Suddenly, Chenle darts forward, and in a flash, pulls down Jisung’s mask and presses his lips against Jisung’s. It’s only for a split second, and really, it’s pretty innocent, but Jisung’s mind goes completely and thoroughly blank, and he has a faint feeling that he might explode. 

His heart hammers hard against his chest when the smaller boy pulls away, eyes zeroing in unintentionally on Chenle’s pink lips. “Holy  _ shit _ .” Jisung breathes, mouth tingling. 

“Sorry, I had to,” Chenle mumbles, and he’s smiling, and he’s shy, and Jisung is fucking  _ enamored _ . “I like you too, Jisungie. Thank you for the necklace, it’s the most thoughtful thing anyone’s ever done for me.”

“Your lips are soft,” Jisung says lamely. Almost immediately, he slaps a hand to his mouth, scolding himself.  _ Seriously, the boy of your dreams is confessing to you and that’s all your able to say? God, you’re such a loser.  _

Chenle looks at Jisung with an expression of sheer adoration. “You’re such a loser,” He sighs, looping his hands around Jisung’s neck and dragging him down for another kiss.

When they get back home, Chenle slips his small hand into Jisung’s as they get their asses chewed out from their worried hyungs. But when Jisung and Chenle apologize profusely, Jisung catches the glint of the tiny butterfly that hangs from the chain on Chenle’s neck, and thinks to himself,  _ worth it, worth it, worth it. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :D now that wasn’t too bad, right? right? :D 


	6. Taeyong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WAIT! i totally spaced when writing and i 4got that 127 is separated between two dorms so can we just pretend that they all live in the same dorm even tho in reality that would be fucking madness thank u im sorry thank u :’’(

Taeyong shuts down his computer monitor and yawns. He glances at the clock and winces at the time- 4:17am. He’d lost track of time gaming  _ again _ . 

_ Really _ , _ you need to get yourself a good sleep schedule _ ,  _ and stick to it. _ A voice inside his head that sounds suspiciously like Doyoung’s is scolding him as he quietly creeps out the door to use the bathroom. Taeyong can’t say he doesn’t agree. 

As he’s about to walk into the bathroom, however, a dim light from the kitchen catches his eye. Unfortunately, Taeyong’s curiosity overrrules his paranoia at early times in the mornings, so he turns from the bathroom and tip-toes to peek into the kitchen instead, only slightly worried for his life.

Mark’s standing by the fridge, chugging down water like his life depends on it. Taeyong steps into the kitchen, opening his mouth to make his presence known, but Mark seems to sense movement already, and he turns to Taeyong with an awkward wave. 

“What are you doing up?” Taeyong asks sternly, raising an eyebrow. Even though the situation reeks of hypocrisy, Taeyong can’t help but feel concerned for the lack of sleep his member’s might be getting. 

“Um, nightmare.” Mark wipes his mouth, averting his eyes. Taeyong notes to himself dryly that the younger boy doesn’t look like he’s even  _ slept _ , let alone have a nightmare. “Why are you?” 

It’s Taeyong’s turn to look somewhere else. “Same.” He lies. 

There’s an awkward silence, and Taeyong thinks that they’re both aware that they’re bullshitting. He quickly speaks to distract himself from the looming shame. “So, uh, what happened in your nightmare?”

“Actually, it wasn’t really a nightmare.” Mark admits sheepishly, bringing the waterbottle to his lips again. “Just some pretty weird thoughts keeping me awake.” He gets a faraway look in his eyes, before looking at Taeyong again. “What about you, hyung?” 

Just when Taeyong’s about to start racking his brain for his own excuse, Mark seems to notice something behind him, because he suddenly begins to choke on his water, eyes wide. Taeyong thumps his back rapidly, glancing over his shoulder to see what could have made him react that way.

It ends up being Lee Donghyuck, who, unlike Taeyong and Mark, actually  _ looks _ like he’s woken up from a deep sleep. His hair is disheveled and his oversized sleep shirt is pulled down lower than it should be. He stumbles clumsily in, rubbing his eyes.

“Hi, Hyuck,” Mark’s voice sounds way too wobbly, and he seems to notice this fact himself because he clears his throat almost immediately, face red. Taeyong watches, unimpressed, as Mark hastily wipes his mouth with the collar of his own shirt and tries to fix his hair in a weak attempt to look more presentable. 

_ Oh, lucky me! _ He realizes sarcastically, watching Donghyuck turn to stare at Mark with an expression that Taeyong thinks is quite literally the dictionary definition of infatuation.  _ I get to watch an episode of Mark and Donghyuck’s bullshit up close and personal!  _

Taeyong doesn’t think he really has the right to be bitter, truly. He himself hadn’t been too easy to deal with when he was crushing on Doyoung something awful years back, and Jaehyun, Johnny, Taeil and Ten can attest to that with vehement exasperation. 

Still, Taeyong’s leaderly side wants to sit them down and tell them seriously what steps they need to take to approach one another on the subject, but reality hits him with the fact that they need to take it in their own hands to do so. 

_ Fucking reality.  _ Taeyong grouses.  _ Disgusting, truly.  _

Donghyuck’s giggle snaps Taeyong out of his sour state, and he turns his attention to focus on what they’re up to now. He’s expecting to see Donghyuck poking at Mark’s cheeks or Mark acting like a complete idiot in love, but instead, he’s met with a surprising sight.

As usual, Mark’s blushing hard, but strangely, he doesn’t look as flustered as he typically does around Donghyuck. They’ve traveled towards the couch in the time Taeyong entered his headspace, and they’re talking in hushed tones, with an occasional laugh emitting from one of them.

Their shoulders are pressed tightly together, and Donghyuck’s talking and gesturing frantically, clearly trying to keep his voice down the best he can. His eyes sparkle with life, a stark contrast to his half alive state that he was in literally 5 minutes ago. Mark’s thoroughly invested in whatever he’s talking about, nodding and interjecting every now and then with his own comments. 

Donghyuck’s hand waving gets to be a bit too excessive, though, and he accidently smacks Mark’s cheek. They both erupt into a fit of giggles, and Mark leans forward to grab Donghyuck’s hand playfully. And Donghyuck is  _ blushing? Would you fucking believe it?  _

Taeyong feels like he might have accidently taken acid or something and now he’s tripping, hard. Or maybe he’s dreaming? He rubs his eyes, pinches himself, blinks excessively. 

But nope, it’s real. Taeyong sighs with relief. Donghyuck’s hand is still in Mark’s, and he’s still talking, but now he looks more flustered, pleased little smile tugging at his lips as his eyes flicker down to their hands every now and then. Mark’s looking at him with the same amount of concentration, but he also looks unquestionably proud of his act of bravado. 

Hell, even Taeyong’s feeling proud. Who knew Mark Lee had it in him? It’s so incredibly domestic and sweet that it makes Taeyong’s heart soar with hope.  _ Progress! _

4am Taeyong may be a lot less cheerful about the world, but that won’t stop the fondness that blooms in his chest when he sees how content Mark and Donghyuck are with one another. Because that smile on Donghyuck’s face is  _ radiating _ , even if the dingy living room lighting doesn’t do it justice. 

And Mark! He’s grown so much, look how easy he’s talking to the love of his life instead of bumbling around like a fool! Taeyong feels like it was only yesterday when Mark couldn’t even look at Donghyuck in the eye- actually, wait, maybe it was-

“Hyung, why are you crying?” Donghyuck’s voice interrupts Taeyong’s soliloquy, and his tone is laced heavily with worry. Mark’s looking at him too, eyebrows drawn together in concern. “What’s wrong?” 

“Oh!” Taeyong realizes with a start that there are tears rolling down his cheeks. He wipes them nonchalantly. “Just, um, thinking about. You two and your..” He fumbles.“Heads?” 

“Heads.” Donghyuck repeats. 

“Yes,” Taeyong is fucked. “They look, um, different? All, uh, rectangular.” 

Immediately, Taeyong knows that it was the wrong thing to say. Mark and Donghyuck are two of the most anxious people in NCT, and this fact has never been more obvious as he watches as their expressions morph into sheer panic. He can already feel a headache coming on.

Mark’s voice rises in alarm. “Hyung, did you take something?”

“Do you want us to call someone? Are you sick?” Donghyuck’s words are getting faster and faster, and Taeyong can already tell he’s bordering on a mild panic attack. He wails, “Hyung, were you drugged? Oh my god, Mark hyung, we’re going to be  _ homeless-” _

Taeyong interrupts before Mark can join Donghyuck’s state of hysteria. He plasters on the most calm smile he can manage. “No, no, you won’t!” 

Mark and Donghyuck look at him doubtfully. “Hyung-”

Taeyong says firmly. “I was joking. Your guys’ heads aren’t rectangular, and you’re not going homeless, Hyuck, seriously,  _ what _ goes on in your mind _? _ ”

“Oh, thank god,” Mark breathes out, holding his chest. 

Donghyuck looks equally reassured, before his face twists into confusion. “But then what were you crying at? If it wasn’t our.. Heads, I mean.” 

“We all act different when we’re sleep deprived. Nothing more to it,” Taeyong says breezily, which isn’t entirely wrong. He donns his most important and authoritative expression. “Anyway, no more questions! It’s getting late, so both of you, go to bed, or tommorow I’ll make your breakfast and then eat it!” 

It’s an empty threat, but it still seems to do the trick in taking their minds off Taeyong’s unusual behavior. They obediently wish him a good night before walking out of the kitchen together, hushed words and soft smiles exchanged before heading to their respective rooms. 

A few hours later, Taeyong wakes up in a cold sweat after a particularly horrifying dream about rectangular headed monsters, so he ends up eating their rice cakes out of pure spite. 

It’s only satisfying for a few seconds before the regret kicks in though, so he ends up making more immediately. He can’t resist their sleepy pouts, alright?


	7. Jeno

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> detective jeno has entered the building, i repeat, detective jeno has entered the building ft. exasperated renmin

Jeno knows that _something_ is happening between Donghyuck and Mark. He just can’t figure out _what_.

One second Donghyuck will gush to him about how sweet Mark hyung is during 127 schedule that day, and Jeno will nod and listen happily. But then Donghyuck will come to him the next minute absolutely livid, ranting about how Mark’s hopeless and a horrible friend, and Jeno will listen, but he won’t nod, mainly because _he_ doesn’t think so, but Jeno’s a good friend, so he still sits through it and offers the best advice he can. 

Mark will text him too, except he’s a little different. Mark makes subtle remarks on Donghyuck, stuff like “hyuck’s voice was really nice today” and “hyuck made this funny joke earlier!”, and Jeno finds himself agreeing, because hey, that’s really considerate of Mark to say so! But then Mark will say, minutes later, something alone the lines of “sometimes hyuck should really just stop being so irrational, right jeno?” and Jeno knows that since Mark doesn’t really _get_ angry, it’s his version of annoyed, so Jeno will send back a puppy dog emojii and change the topic. 

So Jeno has drawn a conclusion from this pattern: Mark and Donghyuck are very passionate frenemies.

“Frenemies.. Right.” Renjun repeats sarcastically. Jaemin masks his guffaw with the most horrible rendition of a hiccup that Jeno has ever heard.

They’re crammed in the company elevator, late to practice already because Jaemin didn’t realize he wasn’t wearing pants until Renjun pointed it out on the way. Jeno’s brain had decided that now would be a splendid time to break the news of this revelation to his boyfriends. 

Jeno’s brain clearly needs to take a sabbatical. Renjun’s looking at him fondly, and really, it’s the worst. Jeno feels like melting and stamping his foot at the same time. 

He chooses to frown deeply at the smaller boy instead, who balks. “Wait, wait- I’m sorry! I didn’t know you were serious- _stop looking at me like that, I said sorry._ ” 

Jaemin isn’t much help in supporting his theory, either. “Jeno baby,” He coos, his smile as dazzling as ever. “You’re so sexy when you’re horrible at reading social cues,” 

Jeno flushes, which only eggs Jaemin on. He raises his voice over Jaemin, whose now catcalling Jeno- and Renjun, too, for some reason. Renjun looks extremely amused, which isn’t helping. “Shut _up_ , Nana! And Injun, you should be on my side! I know you guys know something, and I’m being serious, I want to know too!”

Renjun bites his lip, looking contemplative, and Jeno’s heart raises with hope, thinking he’s going to tell him something. 

Instead, Renjun just looks pitifully at Jeno. “You’ll figure it out, Jeno-yah.” He smiles encouragingly. Jeno’s heart sinks. “I know you will!” 

“Yeah, cutie, you got this!” Jaemin chimes in. 

Jeno wants to show that he’s displeased with their secretive stance on the matter, but Renjun presses a light kiss onto his neck and Jaemin grabs his face and smacks their lips together before they head into practice, so Jeno can’t really find it in himself to be upset even if he tries. 

_Still_. 

As they begin the practice to _Ridin_ ’, Jeno lets his muscle movement take the work, and focuses hard on the information he’s got, mulling it over. He isn’t going to let his boyfriends distract him from what really matters here. He’s going to figure out what’s going on between Donghyuck and Mark if it’s the last thing he does. So what if his conclusion was clearly the wrong one? 

Jeno is not going to give up. He will not let himself give up! 

  
  
  


~~

Obviously, Jeno gives up. 

He gives it three days before he calls it off. He doesn’t think he had much of a chance anyway. Mark and Donghyuck are both as elusive as the weather, and Jeno can’t seem to come to a goddamn conclusion because they’re so goddamn _unpredictable_. It’s driving him absolutely insane, and he can’t even find it in himself to beg Renjun or Jaemin to give him the answer becuase he doesn’t even really care by the time he’s done thinking over all the options. So, he gives up. 

But _, of course_ , like some late and pathetic ass saving grace, he gets the texts. 

Jeno wakes up late one morning and scrolls through his missed messages, only to see that Donghyuck and Mark have texted him the exact same thing at the _exact same time_. Jeno does a double take at the sight of his notifications when he wakes up. 

**[11:43 AM] Marcos:** honestly jeno hes driving me kind of insane

 **[11:43 AM] Hyunkhyunk:** he is making me go crazy !!! 

And then it hits him.

Crazy? _Insane_ ? Those words are all too familiar to Jeno, _especially_ when he was going through a very confusing and vulnerable period in his life. 

“Oh my _god,_ ” He whispers to himself excitedly, eyes wide. Jisung pops his head in, presumably to call him for breakfast, before promptly walking out seeing Jeno’s crazed expression. “ _Oh my god.”_

After breakfast, Jeno drags Jaemin and Renjun to the bathroom immediately, much to their confusion.

“Babe, are you in need of, uh-” Jaemin smile is a little uncertain as he leans back against the sink. “Because it’s a little early, and we _have_ just eaten- not that I’m complain-”

Renjun smacks his arm. “Jaemin, we just had breakfast!”

“ _Ow-_ I _know_ ! I’m just _saying,”_ Jaemin leans into Renjun’s space suggestively. “That’s never stopped you before, has it?

” 

Jeno assures them that he’s not horny before the unnecesary sexual tension begins to form. “Guys,” He says, looking at them with wide, wide eyes. “The reason we’re here is that, I figured it out at last.” 

Renjun and Jaemin exchange concerned glances. “Figure _what_ out, if I may ask?” Jaemin questions. 

Jeno leans forward. Oh, they are _not_ going to believe this! He’s betting Renjun and Jaemin haven’t even _considered_ this as an option. 

“I don’t want to make assumptions here, but.. I think Donghyuck and Mark like eachother.” 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> renjun and jaemin: 👁👄👁


	8. Jaehyun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a father and son talk

“Hyung, can I talk to you about something?” Mark’s voice is timid as it cuts through the silence. The convinience store door jingles shut behind him, and he jumps a little at the noise, clearly fidgety. 

“Yeah, man, of course,” Jaehyun replies, raising an inquisitive eyebrow. He heads towards the drinks section, Mark following close behind. “What’s on your mind?” 

They’re on a late night convenience store run per Mark’s request, but Mark hadn’t really spoken at all the entire trip there. Jaehyun had just assumed that he was in one of his broody moods and didn’t prod, even if the silence was a bit awkward. 

Mark still hasn’t replied yet, deep in thought. But judging by the way Mark’s absently breathing fog into the fridge glass and doodling tiny hearts, Jaehyun can take a good guess that something, or some _ one, _ is occupying his mind. He props open the door and pulls out a watermelon fizzy drink, pressing it into Mark’s hand and grabbing a Cola for himself.

“It’s about Hyuck, right?” Jaehyun asks knowingly after they’re done purchasing their snacks and sitting on the plastic chairs outside the store.

To Jaehyun’s surprise, Mark doesn’t even try to deny it. “Yeah,” He sighs. “Dude, I feel horrible.” 

“Horrible?” Jaehyun asks, swatting distractedly at the mosquitos swarming the store light above their heads. “Why horrible?”

“ _ Because _ , I just- hyung, I don’t know, I feel like a little kid, it’s so goddamn embarassing,” Mark bemoans, knocking his head against his drink repeatedly before pressing it hard to his forehead. He squeezes his eyes shut, condesnation from the drink dripping onto his temples. 

Jaehyun leans forward and slowly peels the drink away. Mark stares back at him pathetically, red splotch growing on his forehead. “Why don’t you tell me what in particular is bothering you?” Jaehyun suggests gently. “Take your time.” 

Mark mulls this over. “You have to promise me you won’t laugh, though,” He finally says, pulling his phone out of his pocket hesitantly. “Because like I said, this is pretty embarassing.” 

“You have my word,” Jaehyun promises. It’s not like it could be anything  _ that  _ bad. Jaehyun’s seen the worst of Mark and Donghyuck already, he’s sure. “You know I’m good at keeping a straight face, anyway.” 

Mark looks comforted at that, and after a few seconds of him scrolling furiously through his messages, he’s thrusting his phone forward into Jaehyun’s hands. Jaehyun fumbles to get a good grip on it, and then squints to make out what he’s supposed to be looking at. 

It’s a selfie of Donghyuck and Renjun. By the looks of it, they’re on a bed somewhere, and they both look quite cozy, wearing matching white hotel robes and their hair looking freshly blow dried. Renjun’s got his head tucked into Donghyuck’s shoulder, and they both look pretty happy. If Renjun wasn’t dating Jeno and Jaemin, Jaehyun would have guessed they were a couple. 

“It’s what they did during the free day we had yesterday,” Mark explains. “They sent me that selfie of them at the hotel.” 

“Cute,” Jaehyun muses, handing Mark back his phone. “So what about it, though?”

Mark avoids eye contact. “Uh, nothing, really. You know, I just,” He drops his head into his arms, mumbling the rest of his sentance into his sweater, voice muffled. 

“Come again?” 

Mark lifts his head, looking flat out miserable. “ _ I _ wanted to ask Donghyuck to get food with me during our free time, but Renjun asked him to go to some spa thing first.” Mark’s eyes flicker to Jaehyun’s, as if trying to monitor his face, so Jaehyun quickly neutralizes his growing grin. “And it’s fine, obviously!  _ Obviously. _ ”

“Is it?” Jaehyun asks, looking pointedly at how Mark’s wringing his hands together, looking incredibly like it isn’t as obviously fine as he’s making it out to be. Mark flushes. 

“They look like they had a lot of fun, and Hyuckie looks really happy, you know? I just.. I just feel like a kid again, hyung,” He groans. “Like that feeling you get when you wish you were someone else? When you’re like.. You’re..  _ Ugh. _ ” Mark goes back to thumping his head against his drink, this time with more force. 

Jaehyun snatches the drink out of his hands and opens it, ensuring that the forehead thumping won’t happen again. Mark has the audacity to look offended at his action. Jaehyun rolls his eyes. 

“You’re jealous, Mark.” Jaehyun declares. “And it’s okay, as long as you don’t let it consume you-” but Mark’s agonized yell drowns out the rest of his sentance. 

Jaehyun frowns. “Mark, it’s the truth! Jealousy is-” 

Mark lunges across the table, slapping a hand over Jaehyun’s mouth. “Okay,  _ okay, _ ” Mark agrees hastily, flushing. “I got it, alright? I  _ know _ ! I got it. I’m not exactly proud of what I’m feeling, either.”

“That’s alright, you know,” Jaehyun smiles understandingly, racking his brain for something wise to tell the younger. “A little bit of jealousy is okay! Sometimes the people you love make you feel the most frustrated, but those are all the factors of attraction, you know. As long as you don’t let these feelings define what Donghyuck means to you, I think you’ll be fine.”

Unsurprisingly, the boy in front of him is an incredible shade of red. “We arent  _ dating _ ,” Mark stutters out. “And there’s no blatant adoration!” 

“Seriously? Is that what you took out of my advice?” Jaehyun gawks, incredulous. “Mark, stop being an idiot for  _ one  _ second and look at this for what it is! You  _ like _ Donghyuck, and you’re jealous of Renjun and him going out yesterday, and more importantly, that is  _ okay! _ I’m telling you that sometimes you’ll feel these uncomfortable things when you like someone!” 

Mark is silent for a moment, before he bows his head. “Sorry, hyung,” He mumbles. “I wasn’t trying to like, be annoying.”

It reminds Jaehyun so strikingly of a little kid begrudgingly apologizing to their parent that he can’t even find it in himself to be iritated at the younger. He reaches out and pats Mark’s cheek, swatting at the mosquitos that are flocking the light above. 

After a bit when they’re about to head into their apartment building, Jaehyun turns to Mark with a smile. 

“Anyway, if this soothes you a bit, Renjun wouldn’t have done anything with Donghuck anyway, what with Jeno and Jaemin as his boyfriends.” 

“ _ Oh.  _ Oh!” Mark looks shellshocked, before his expression morphs into one of delight. And then, unsurprisingly, it settles into one of extreme embarassment. “ _ Oh, good god.” _

“Still,” Jaehyun swings open the door, giving Mark a wink. “Don’t let that stop you from being more charming! I’m sure Donghyuck wouldn’t mind some more of that famous absolutely fully capable lovin’-”

“ _ Stopp!” _

~

The next morning Jaehyun hears from Yuta that Mark’s gone to the Dream dorms before they went on their schedule, carrying a cup of coffee and a donut in his hands. 

“He said something about Donghyuck,” Yuta shrugged when Jaehyun questioned who it was for. “The kid was already stumbling at saying his name at like 8 in the morning, I didn’t pay attention to anything else that came out of his mouth.”

Later, while Jaehyun is off doing an individual schedule and is waiting in the dressing room, he’s scrolling through his text messages when he suddenly gets a text from Mark. 

It’s a blurry selfie of Donghyuck and him, their heads knocked closely together. Mark’s eyes are squeezed shut mid-laugh, and Donghyuck’s eyes are on him, wide and playful. Mark’s arm is wrapped loosely around Donghyuck’s shoulders, and the smile on Donghyuck’s face is undoubtedly one of satisfaction. 

Jaehyun smiles fondly at the picture, saving it. Shortly after, a text bubble pops up below, and it reads: “hyung, hyuck is really qpqpwopppppQCAWQQKKKWLLLLoooo alkwkOOOTHEAWoOOWppww;LWLKKLL[w HI HYUNG ITS MEuuwkkkwkwkkalooooowpqp11;;;u”

Jaehyun texts back “yall should jus date alr” and ignores the flood of vibrations from his phone that come shortly afterward.


	9. Jaemin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> its jaemins world, markhyuck’s jus livin in it

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yall are so nice holy cow thank you for the comments and kudos they mean so much :’---)

If Jaemin is being completely honest, the last person that he is expecting to see, especially during another long and intensive dance practice, is Mark. They’re currently on a 10 minute break, and Jaemin is planning on buying a quick energy drink from the working vending machine on the lobby floor, when he spots him. 

Everyone and their mom knows that Mark’s schedule is  _ packed _ \- from schedules with 127, to individual meetings with management, to dance practices, to writing lyrics- it’s impossible to get ahold of him for more than mere seconds on the weekdays. Minutes if you’re  _ lucky _ . 

Yet here he is on a Thursday morning: waiting awkwardly in the company lobby in all his glory. His hair and makeup is already done up to the nines, and the shiny sleeve of his sequined shirt is being worn between his teeth, much to Jaemin’s displeasure. Still, it’s clear that Mark’s anxious, foot tapping rapidly against the ground and his eyes flickering to the main entrance door every few seconds, so Jaemin decides he’ll let it slide.

But what  _ really _ catches Jaemin’s eye is the large green Starbucks drink that Mark’s clutched in his left hand. The remains of his caffeine addict instincts urge him to make a mad dash forward to beg Mark for the drink, but before he’s even made so much as a step, someone else gets there first. 

It’s Donghyuck, looking just as sweaty and pooped out as he did in the practice room, except a lot more flushed now that he’s in front of Mark. Mark’s eyes instantly light up at the sight of him, and Jaemin tries to feel a little bit surprised, he really does.

But he  _ isn’t _ . Because who else would Mark, an incredibly punctual and proper idol, be slightly late for a schedule for? Donghyuck’s been the exception to Mark’s staunchly instituted set of rules more times than Jaemin can count. So yeah, Jaemin isn’t at all shocked at this turn of events. 

All he is is slightly dissapointed because now he won’t get to be able to have any of that inviting Starbucks latte. 

“Hi hyung, you called?” Donghyuck is heaving heavily in between each of his words, clearly out of breath. Jaemin peers forward from his spot by the stairs, interest overriding his dissapointment. 

“I thought you told me this morning you had a magazine shoot or something?”

“Uh, yeah,” Mark smiles sheepishly. “Manager-hyung’s waiting for me in the car right now, and I had to practically beg him to let me make a stop here, so I have to be pretty quick, but-” He waves the drink around a little. “Here.” 

He hands the drink and a little napsack to Donghyuck. “And in there’s some waterbottles and snacks,” Mark explains. 

Donghyuck takes it hesitantly, looking a little lost. “Hyung, are you seriously telling me you’re late to an important photoshoot because you wanted to bring me some food?” 

Mark looks defensive. “It’s not like, some huge deal, Hyuck. And if you must know- I’m not  _ late.  _ I got up  _ early _ to get here, so-” Abruptly, he stops talking, looking incredibly like he said something he wasn’t supposed to say.

Jaemin blanches. Now  _ that _ is surprising. Mark’s schedule is already packed enough, and it’s a known fact that he takes the most advantage of every second of sleep he can get. One particular time, he had even gone as far as to sleep while sitting on top of his suitcase in a hotel lobby. 

Getting up early, even if it’s for Donghyuck, is just a little unorthodox for Mark. And Donghyuck seems to share the same sentiment, because he looks wide eyed up at Mark. “Seriously? But like.. why?” 

_ It’s like watching a horribly slow drama,  _ Jaemin thinks, already getting that impatient feeling he gets when the main leads are about to have a pivotal moment.  _ Seriously, cut the bullshit, we all know what’s coming.  _

Mark doesn’t, however, and clearly mistakes Donghyuck’s disbelief for judgement. He crosses his arms, a dark flush creeping up his neck as he frowns. “I just thought I’d do something  _ nice  _ for you, because you were whining about how long your practice is today- which you know,  _ I’d _ be grateful, if I were you-”

Donghyuck cuts him off by throwing his arms around Mark’s neck, burying his face into his chest. “I’m grateful, I’m grateful, sorry, sorry,” He chirps, obviously delighted now that he’s gotten over his confusion. “You’re an idiot, but thank you, hyung.” 

Mark loses his disgruntled stature in an instance, softening immediately. “Calling me an idiot is not making me feel like I’m being appreciated right now,” He huffs, but he pats Donghyuck’s back anyway, pink in the face. 

_ Now kiss!  _ Jaemin wills them silently.  _ Come on, kiss, kiss, the viewers are W A I T I N G.  _

Instead, Donghyuck pulls back and punches Mark’s arm. Jaemin is  _ not _ happy. 

“ _ Ow,  _ Hyuck, what the  _ fuck  _ was that for?”  _ Yeah, Hyuck, what the fuck was that?  _ Jaemin glares silently. 

Donghyuck looks at Mark sternly. “Thank you, but don’t lose sleep for me next time, asscrack. We all know you’ve got the longest schedule today, and so you have to promise me you’ll sleep in the car ride to wherever the hell you’re going to.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever, Hyuck, I’ll survive. Coffee is a thing.” Mark rolls his eyes, but Jaemin knows he’ll end up listening to Donghyuck anyway. 

Mark’s phone starts to ring in his pocket, and it’s no doubt his manager. But to Jaemin’s actual shock, he ignores it, choosing instead to look at Donghyuck with badly hidden adoration. “See if I’ll do anything selfless for you again.”

_ You will _ . Jaemin thinks boredly. “You probably will,” Donghyuck beams, charmed as always. 

“I probably will.” Mark admits, and then his phone ringtone goes off again in his pocket, more insistently, in Jaemin’s opinion. 

He glances at Donghyuck regretfully. “I guess I should probably go now,” Mark gestures towards the door, looking like that’s the last thing he wants to do.

“Yeah,” Donghyuck’s face falls. “Yeah, probably.”

There’s an awkward little silence where they’re both looking at the ground in front of them, and Jaemin wants to both slam his head into a wall and coo at how ridiculously stupid  _ and _ cute this entire situation is. 

And then Mark, in the least graceful manner Jaemin has  _ ever _ witnessed a human being do, pulls Donghyuck into a one armed hug before mumbling something about “practice” and “text me later”, and then he’s out the door faster than the speed of light, ears and face bright red. 

The second he’s gone, Donghyuck honest to god  _ preens _ . A helpless giggle escapes his lips while he looks down at the drink and the bag that’s in his hands. It’s horrible. Jaemin feels like bleaching his eyes, or maybe-

“Oh, Jaemin hyung, _ there  _ you are!” Jisung’s voice snaps Jaemin out of his internal demise, and he twists his head to look up at the younger boy, whose standing on the steps behind him curiously. 

Jaemin’s about to tell him to quiet the hell down, but then Donghyuck’s eyes make their way over to them, and Jaemin knows it’s too late. On top of that, for some _inconvinient ass_ _reason_ , Jisung’s voice is suddenly 100 decibels too high.

“What are you doing here? Why were you looking at Donghyuck hyung from far away? Are you spying on him? Why are you looking at me like that? Wait-  _ Wait hyung, stop, OW!”  _

Needless to say, Donghyuck does  _ not  _ give Jaemin any of his drink. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOPE U ENJOYED!! im so excited for the next chap AhhhHAHHH


	10. Jungwoo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hyuck and mark backstage! 
> 
> (quick disclaimer- i did not write this with any particular stage in mind lol)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEY. thANK YOU GUYS SM FOR THE COMMENTS AND THE KUDOS AHAHQHEHQW. it is SO FUCKING DOPE TO HAVE PEOPLE READ MY SHIT LIKE DAMN YALL HAVE n o IDEA how grateful i am! SO THANK YOU!

Being friends with Mark has given Jungwoo the opportunity to learn many things about him. It’s no secret that Jungwoo adores Mark. Their friendship is one of Jungwoo’s favorites amongst the members, being that Mark is just so _cute_ , and he’s also just one of the kindest people that Jungwoo knows. So Jungwoo makes it a point to learn the little things. 

For example, how defensive he gets when someone mentions his bad hair days from back then, how whiny he gets when he’s hungry, how he listens to 90’s jazz music when he’s missing home, (which honestly, Jungwoo still doesn’t _really_ understand) how embarrassingly awkward he gets whenever Donghyuck does something the _least_ bit flirtatious- Jungwoo could go on for ages. He knows it all! 

Another thing that Jungwoo has learned, is that sometimes, on a very rare occasion, Mark gets in his own head about certain insecurities, and when he does, he kind of just.. Shuts down. When it happens and he’s not on stage, he doesn’t talk to anyone, he gets very moody, he gets incredibly secluded. 

Jungwoo understands, of course. Mark is only human, and he’s got way too much stuff on his plate for someone so young- he has to find some way to cope with his emotions, and sometimes that means to shut yourself out from others. Jungwoo understands. 

Still, it sucks, and Jungwoo worries. 

Unfortunately, now is one of those times. They’re waiting in line before a performance, and Jungwoo’s about to latch onto Mark’s shoulder as usual and attack him with kisses, but rightfully backs off when he recognizes the stony expression on Mark’s face. So he just squeezes Mark’s shoulder, shooting him a reassuring smile just to let him know he’s there, before he walks back into his spot in line. 

Near the front of the line, like some 7th sense in his head is notifying him that Mark is upset, Donghyuck suddenly turns around. He scans Mark’s expression quickly, and then slips out of line to join him. 

Jungwoo forgot to mention _another_ thing he’s learned- Lee Donghyuck exists, and is the only exception, _always_.

The only person Mark is able to talk to without shutting down completely or saying something unintentionally hurtful, is Lee Donghyuck. Sometimes, Jungwoo thinks Hyuck knows this, because more often than not, he uses it to his advantage and helps Mark out of his own head.

_And thank god he does,_ Jungwoo thinks in relief as he takes a glance behind him. 

Donghyuck’s led Mark farther away from the group, and they’re clearly having a private conversation. Donghyuck’s gripping both of Mark’s hands, saying something rather passionately into the little space that’s between them. His eyes are wide as moons as they bore into Mark’s, eyebrows drawn together while he speaks. 

Mark’s staring back at him like he’s amused, and eventually, he nods, a faint smile on his face. He says something that makes Donghyuck beam in satisfaction, because Donghyuck then brings Mark’s hands to his lips and presses a light kiss onto his knuckles. 

Jungwoo stifles a snicker, turning away quickly to hide his grin as Mark lets out a loud squeak, and even if he can’t see it through the darkness, Jungwoo knows that the boy is blushing. Jungwoo also knows damn well that he isn’t imagining the smirk on Donghyuck’s lips when he struts back to his place in line. 

When Jungwoo looks back behind him again, all traces of Mark’s previous scowl has disappeared and is instead replaced with a shy grin. This time when Jungwoo turns around, Mark catches his eyes and smiles at him, leaning forward to pinch his cheek. Jungwoo grins back, slinging his arms around Mark’s shoulders happily.

_The power of Lee Donghyuck,_ he thinks to himself with a grin. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> is it weird that im kinda sad this is almost over? :''( anyway thank u sm for reading as always! <3 next chap features lele, my babbbby!


	11. Chenle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> >:::))) epic battle scene.. kind of..

“You did  _ what?” _

“Hyung, it’s only a video-”

_ “ _ Zhong Chenle _ ,  _ if you don’t get your ass back here  _ right the fuck now _ . _ ” _

Chenle shrieks in response, knocking a kitchen table chair over in the midst of his mad dash for safety. Donghyuck’s hot on his heels, hard curse words spilling out of his mouth as he trips over everything Chenle’s unintentionally bumping into and knocking over. 

“Hyung, _wait-_ Just let me explain!”

“Explain, then!” Donghyuck points out breathlessly, hopping over the couch in a futile attempt to grab at Chenle’s shirt. Chenle dodges him with ease, twisting around his arms and bolting into the living room. “Why don’t we just sit down and talk _? _ ”

“Because you’re going to  _ kill me!” _ Chenle wails, and really, it’s the truth. He’s had enough experience of getting chased by the hyung’s in the dorm to know that “ _ sitting down and talking” _ is just a free pass to death.

He takes a quick glance at Donghyuck’s face just to confirm that he’s still mad, and immediately wishes he hadn’t. Donghyuck’s expression is nothing but stone cold  _ murder _ , and the fact that he’s coming at Chenle at full speed while practically foaming at the mouth only adds to the horror.

“I won’t!” Donghyuck protests, but the petrifying snarl he lets out when Chenle slides the stool from underneath the coffee table at him in hopes of slowing him down proves otherwise. “ _ Chenle-” _

“I’m sorry, hyung!” Chenle yells, eyes darting around to find a safe place to take refuge.

God  _ dammnit _ . Why did all the hyung’s have to have a schedule right now? Jeno would have tackled Donghyuck just for the sake of tackling Donghyuck, and Renjun and Jaemin would have screamed about the mess and forced them to stop immediately. And Jisung..

_ Jisung!  _ Chenle lights up immediately, remembering that his boyfriend is home. Then he deflates, knowing the boy is asleep and probably will be for the next 18 hours. 

“SUNGIE!” Chenle bellows anyway, yielding a plastic broom in front of him to ward Donghyuck off. Maybe he could sprint to his room and wake him up? Jisung would save Chenle immediately, Chenle knows it- whether his attempts would be  _ effective _ or not, that was the real matter here.. 

Like he’s reading his thoughts, Donghyuck snickers. “Nobody can help you now, Chenle,” He crows from across the room, manic smile on his face. 

_ Fuck, he’s right.  _ Chenle thinks, sliding into the kitchen.  _ There’s nobody. I’m fucking finished.  _

And in a moment of sheer panic, he promptly backs himself into the fridge. 

Immediately, he curses himself at his stupidity. He’s  _ cornered _ . It doesn’t take long for Donghyuck to realize the fact himself, and the boy starts stalking closer and closer, practically slobbering at the mouth. __

“Hyung,” Chenle raises his hands up warily, eyeing the nearing Donghyuck with a nervous grin. “Let’s just talk first, yeah? I promise I have a perfectly good explanation, I  _ promise _ !” 

“I don’t want an explanation anymore,” Donghyuck cooes in a sing-song voice, a menacing smile on his lips, and Chenle feels a little like he’s living out the climax scene from every generic horror movie  _ ever _ . All Donghyuck’s really missing is a bloodied saw and a twisted motive. 

_ Actually,  _ Chenle supposes with a devious smile _ , if there’s one thing justified out of all this _ ,  _ it’s probably Donghyuck’s motive.  _

It’s the last sane thought he has before Donghyuck drags him to the ground, his fingers jabbing into his sides, tickling him unforgivingly. 

Eventually Donghyuck stops once Chenle begins to start hitting an inhumane pitch in the shrieks he’s letting out of his system. He’s got Chenle in a loose headlock when Jisung’s door swings open, a very alarmed Jisung standing behind it. 

“Chenle!” He calls out immediately, fear in his voice. “Are you oka-  _ what are you doing.” _

“Hi Sungie,” Chenle greets enthusiastically from down on the ground, waving. Donghyuck waves too. Jisung looks adorably puzzled, and Chenle resists the urge to jump up and kiss his forehead. “You’re awake!” 

“And you’re not dead?” Jisung responds hesistantly.

“Not yet!” Chenle smiles cheerfully, watching as Jisung’s eyes scan first Donghyuck and him, and then the entire dorm. They widen in horror, and honestly, Chenle doesn’t blame him.

The entire living room area looks like all the natural disasters in the world decided to have a fun little get-together at the same time. There may or may not be a shattered picture frame somewhere amongst the mess, and almost all the lamps are knocked over, shoes and pillows scattered around haplessly. 

_ Goddamnit. _ Chenle groans internally. Even if he manages to come out of Donghyuck’s fury alive, he knows Jaemin and Renjun will be waiting with storms of their own at the finish line. 

“Ohh!” Jisung exclaims, realization hitting him. “Hyung, you’re about to murder my boyfriend because he sent that video of you to Mark hyung, and you were  _ wasted _ -”

All urges of kissing Jisung’s forehead fly out the window. “Shut up, shut  _ up, _ ” Chenle seethes through his teeth, but it’s too late. 

“Thank you for the reminder, Jisungie!” Donghyuck snorts, and tightens his hold around Chenle’s neck a little. Chenle glares at Jisung, who just smiles cheekily back. 

After a few seconds, though, Jisung grows uncomfortable, unable to stand to see Chenle is any type of pain whatsoever. “Okay,  _ stop,  _ stop _ , _ ” He says, tone a bit pleading. His face twists into that anxious little expression that Chenle loves to tease him for, and he pulls at Donghyuck’s hands. Chenle doesn’t have to heart to tell him that he’s not really in that much pain. “Let him explain, at least?” 

“Fine, whatever.” Donghyuck replies reluctantly. “Here.” He releases Chenle and shoves him into Jisung’s general direction. He then crosses his arms, expectantly raising his eyebrows. 

“Thank you,” Chenle breathes in relief. He leans into Jisung’s chest, who hooks his arms around his waist in a feeble attempt at protection in case Donghyuck attacks again. 

“First of all, hyung, I’m sorry.” Chenle admits. 

To clarify, all Chenle  _ really  _ did was send a  _ mildly _ incriminating video of an intoxicated Donghyuck stumbling around his room, wearing Mark’s worn down Vancouver sweater and a horrifying pair of bright pink sweatpants, singing “Don’t Need Your Love” at the top of his lungs while pausing to cry into Chenle’s carpet about unrequited love. 

In Chenle’s defense, Donghyuck was the one who had arrived drunk and burst into Chenle’s room while crying. He was practically  _ asking _ for Chenle to save blackmail material!

“It’s not even blackmail, though,” Jisung points out unhelpfully when Chenle brings this point up. He wide awake now, thoroughly invested in the story. Donghyuck on the other hand, looks like he’s a second away from lunging for Chenle again. “Donghyuck hyung didn’t even do anything for you to send it.”

_ Fucking Jisung. Isn’t this idiot supposed to be helping me? _ Chenle pinches his thigh discretely, relishing in Jisung’s squeak of pain. “We haven’t gotten to my  _ reason,  _ yet!” He protests, hoping to win over Donghyuck with a glimmering smile. 

Donghyuck continues to look at him suspiciously. Finally, he says, voice dry, “Well, the floor is yours.”

“Okay, well,” Chenle leans forward a little. “Basically, Mark hyung was texting me, and he was feeling a bit down..”

To make a long story somewhat shorter, Donghyuck’s been at the Dream dorm’s all week because of promotions, and hasn’t been able to spend every living breathing second with Mark again. Mark’s been taking it upon himself to send Chenle messages that have not so subtle subtexts of him missing Donghyuck (ex.“tell hyuck that i think he’s stupid”, or “hyuck’s hair looked alright in that performance”) 

And Chenle gets it. It’s that push and pull style that Mark and Donghyuck are used to- he understands, maybe even encourages it a little for the two of them. 

But last night, the only text that Chenle recieved from Mark was a simple and  _ very _ unexpected- “i kinda miss hyuck.” and that’s the kicker. Chenle feels so bad that he sends the video of Donghyuck over at once. 

Chenle continues. “And it’s not a huge surprise that hyung’s, like, in love with you, so I guess I thought that if I sent him a cute video of drunk Donghyuck hyung, it might make him feel a little better.”

“He’s not in love with me,” Donghyuck grumbles instantly, before settling into a silence, clearly mulling everything Chenle’s just told him over. Jisung and Chenle stare at him for a few moments, and when he doesn’t look like he’s about to start talking, Chenle shrugs, making himself comfortable against Jisung and pulling out his phone. 

Chenle’s about to pull up Avatar on Netflix when Donghyuck finally speaks. “Well, did he?” Is what he asks, question coming out in a surprisingly small voice. 

Chenle tilts his head. “Did he what?” 

Donghyuck flushes a little. “You know, feel better.” 

“Well, yeah, I guess so,” Chenle shrugs, remembering the flurry of text messages that came shortly afterward when he sent the video. “He seemed a lot more lively after that, that’s for sure.”

He unlocks his phone and enters the chatroom with Mark, reading a few messages aloud. “Hmmm.. “tell Hyuck to give me back my hoodie” and then like 5 seconds later,“actually nvm, dont”, blah blah “safe drinking”, blah blah,” Chenle makes a face, scrolling through more. “Half of it is nagging,  _ oh here!  _ He says, “he’s cute”! Look, Ji, Mark hyung called Donghyuck hyung cute!” 

Jisung hooks his chin over Chenle’s shoulder, squinting at the screen. “He also told you right under that to  _ “not tell Hyuck any of this, by the way’.”  _

Chenle pauses, turning around to glare up at Jisung, but Donghyuck sputtering in disbelief distracts him. 

“ _ I’m _ cute,” He’s griping, ears bright pink as he furiously pulls out his own phone, presumably to text Mark. “The nerve of him! When he’s literally-” Chenle doesn’t hear the rest of his grumbles as Donghyuck storms out of the room, tapping aggressively at his phone screen. 

Mark ends up bursting into the dorm after his own schedule a little later when Chenle’s done getting an earful about the mess he’s left around the dorm from the other hyung’s, definitely with the intent to chew Chenle out for exposing him to Donghyuck. 

At the sound of Mark’s voice, though, Donghyuck stomps out of his room and drags Mark into it. Chenle doesn’t mind, obviously. He couldn’t even focus on anything Mark was even saying, too distracted by the awful orange hoodie he was wearing. 

The next morning, Chenle takes note of the fact that Donghyuck is wearing both the horrendous hoodie, and an incredibly pleased smile. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope yall are eating well and drinking that AQUA. as always tysm for reading! <3


	12. Yuta

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey yall, im so sorry about the sudden halt in updates!! i recently got a new job at walmart and its consuming most of my time :( 
> 
> also, college preparation fucking sucks a;lerrkejrlk my common app essay is absolute trash i cry i cryyyy. 
> 
> i promise the finale will be posted between this and next week!! thank u all so much for supporting my writing, here’s my love yuta

Yuta watches, eyebrows raised as Donghyuck fidgets uncontrollably under the scrutinizing eyes of all the members. 

“He’s clearly not going to focus,” Jaehyun eventually says, sounding incredibly like he couldn’t care less that Donghyuck is right there and listening. Yuta thinks it doesn’t make a difference anyway, because Donghyuck’s already zoned out again, eyebrows scrunched together and his mouth downturned in a pout. 

Yuta knows exactly why he’s acting like this- Mark is sick. He’d come down with a sudden cold this morning and didn’t come to dance practice, and inevitably, it had taken a toll on Donghyuck. 

Everyone was rightfully worried, of course, but the moment the news was relayed to all of them, Donghyuck’s face had paled and he looked downright ridden with anxiety. He looked so pathetic that Yuta had leaned forward to pat his cheek in means of comfort. “He’s going to be okay,” He found himself soothing. “Don’t worry too much about it, Hyuck-ah.” 

Consequently, the advice hadn’t worked out too well. Donghyuck, typically an immaculate dancer even on his worst day, was unable to get past the first 20 seconds of the song without bumping into other members, a half hearted apology spouted in tow. It had happened about 3 times before everyone was beginning to feel a bit hopeless. 

He’s now rapidly texting on his phone while Taeyong looks conflictedly around at the other members. “Should we just send him back to the dorms?” He whispers, reading everyone’s expressions. “His mind isn’t here this morning, and he could clearly use a breather.” 

“I don’t know,” Johnny frowns. “I’m worried about Mark too, but it’s only been 10 minutes into practice- shouldnt we run through it perfectly at least once before Hyuck goes back?” 

Yuta can’t help his snicker. “I’ll bet actual money that he won’t be able to,” He grins. Jungwoo and Taeil begin throwing out random prices, and the others begin to chime in with their own, but Taeyong levels all of them with a stern glare. 

“Do  _ not _ exploit Donghyuck’s distracted state for money,” He chides, before adding under his breath- “But how much are we talking?”

Unfortunately, before they’re about to, well,  _ exploit Donghyuck’s distracted state for money _ , said boy lifts his head up from his phone to stare at Taeyong. “Hyung,” He says, already striding across the practice room to grab his jacket and bag. “Um, I’m not feeling too good- I don’t think I can finish the rest of practice. I’ll be better in 45 minutes, probably- Manager hyung is picking me up! Bye!”

He’s out the door before anyone can blink. 

There’s a heavy silence, before Doyoung sighs and stares pointedly at each of them. “One of us has to go with them, and it’s not going to be me.”

So that’s how Yuta finds himself cramped in the backseat of the company van, sending fuming glances at Donghyuck whenever he lifts his head up from his phone. He’s not opposed to visiting Mark, of course, but he also is not in the mood for another round of the two of them dancing around eachother. 

Donghyuck, however, doesn’t seem phased at all by Yuta’s presence. 

“Hey, I didn’t ask you to come,” He shrugs carelessly when he finally makes eye contact with a glowering Yuta. “I mean, sorry? But not my problem.”

Yuta huffs. Donghyuck  _ does  _ have a point. He’d been the one to lose the match of rock-paper-scissors, not him. 

“I just don’t understand why you’re acting like he’s on his deathbed,” Yuta grumbles, flopping back against his seat defeatedly as they pull into their dorm’s parking lot. “He’s been sick plenty of times before, this isn’t something new.”

Donghyuck avoids Yuta’s eyes and instead shoves his phone into his pocket, unbuckling his seatbelt. “Yeah, but this is different,” He says under his breath. “I gave him the sickness.” 

_ Ah. _ Donghyuck had come down with a minor cold a few days prior, Yuta’s now remembering. He isn’t surprised at all that Mark suddenly has it, what with how touchy the two of them are. 

Well, that would explain Donghyuck’s actions. He was feeling guilty. “You obviously didn’t mean to.” Yuta tries to comfort him as they bound up the stairs, Donghyuck three steps ahead of him. 

“Still feel like shit,” Donghyuck mutters. He shoves his key into the lock and hurries inside, Yuta on his heels. “Hyung, help out in the kitchen? I’m going to go check on Mark.”

Yuta wants to groan. Instead, he says, “Alright.” 

_ I didn’t sign up for this!  _ He’s arguing in his head as he boils water on the stove.  _ I’m here to keep watch, not cook! _

Still, he finds himself searching for medicine through the cabinets and tossing miscellaneous ingredients into the soup that is now looking a very suspicious shade of orange. Is cabbage okay in chicken noodle soup? Seems healthy enough.. 

_ Mark eats everything, anyway.  _ This thought comforts Yuta, and he confidently stirs in some spare slices of beef that Taeyong had frozen yesterday. In any case, he did successfully make chamomile tea, so Mark could possibly survive off that if he didn’t enjoy the soup.

He’s just about done with his soup imitation when Donghyuck suddenly manifests at his side, looking appraisingly up at him. “Looks nice, hyung!” He smiles, and Yuta notices that he looks a lot less like his entire family has been eaten by some unknown being. “I’ll bring him the tea, you bring him the soup?” 

Mark’s wrapped up in blankets when Yuta and Donghyuck walk into his room, writing dilligently in his notebook. Yuta thinks he looks relatively fine despite the mountain of tissues piled up beside his bed, but judging by Donghyuck’s reaction, you would have thought that Mark was on the brink of death. 

“ _ Hyung _ !” He gasps, placing the bowl of soup on Mark’s desk and hurrying over to his side. “You shouldn’t be working, I literally just told you to rest! Oh my god, you  _ never _ listen to me, you big idiot-”

“I told you already, I’m fine, Hyuck,” Mark groans, but he shuts his notebook obediently and sets it off to the side. 

It’s when Donghyuck is finished patting down his blankets around him that he notices Yuta over his shoulder, and he greets him with a sheepish smile. “Hi, hyung, thanks for the soup!” 

“No problem at all, Mark Lee Johnson,” Yuta smiles back, fond. 

“Hyung,” Donghyuck says impatiently. “You haven’t eaten yet, so here-” He brings the soup forward and lifts a spoon up to Mark’s mouth. 

“Dude- Hyuck-” Mark squawks as Donghyuck stares at him pointedly. “I’m not like, unable to use my limbs! It’s just a cold!”

“Don’t care,” Donghyuck pouts, and then says, quieter, “Let me take care of you, hyung.” 

Mark’s face noticeably goes pink, and then he looks at Yuta helplessly, whose still standing awkwardly by the door, fighting the urge to retch. Yuta shrugs in return. 

“Ugh-  _ Fine _ , Hyuckie,” Mark finally groans, his lips quirking up as Donghyuck’s face lights up with a delighted beam. “This is manipulation, ugh, I swear,” 

Yuta’s gone before he sees Donghyuck feed Mark.  _ That’s enough romance for today, _ he thinks, feeling slightly nauseous. 

\---

Later that night, Yuta’s instructed to wake the two of them up for dinner. When he cracks open the door, he sees them both poring over Mark’s notebook, Mark pointing out things inside it while explaining it passionately to Donghyuck. Donghyuck stares with wide eyes, asking questions now and then, and Mark answers back with vigor, clearly pleased. 

“Dinner,” Yuta knocks twice and calls, leaving quickly. He doesn’t even notice he’s smiling when he walks down the hallway into the kitchen. 

  
  



End file.
